


Offer Your Throat

by SkilledWarriorKiwi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: 104th Training Corps - Freeform, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - No Stands (JoJo), Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blood and Violence, Cannibalism, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Corruption, Crossover, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Johnny and Narancia are the main characters, M/M, Military + Monarchy bashing, Protectiveness, Public Display of Affection, Scout Regiment, Survival Training, Tenderness, Titan Shifters, Titans, To An Extent, Trans Male Character, War Crimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 14:34:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15439191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkilledWarriorKiwi/pseuds/SkilledWarriorKiwi
Summary: In the year 845 Wall Maria fell and Titans encroached upon humanities territory for the first time in a century, resulting in the deaths of thousands.Two years later the 104th Training Corps forms and with it a potential to turn back the tide against the human-devouring Titans as the Walls ever constricted around them. Among these recruits were Johnny Joestar and Narancia Ghirga.Johnny joined for purely selfish and self-loathing reasons he refuses to divulge. Narancia, meanwhile, had to join the military or face execution. Personally he thought both options were bullshit but picked the option that would keep his head on his shoulders for just a bit longer.As if it were so easy.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to make this as 'stand alone' as possible i.e if you're a jjba fan and know nothing about snk then it should be explained enough you can follow the story regardless since it mostly follows the canon timeline. Stands and other jjba stuff don't exist so if you're a snk and non-jjba fan you could prob just read all the Jojo characters as ocs lol
> 
> There's also some side pairings but they're only mentioned off handedly/aren't a focus so they aren't tagged. Gyjo is the main focus. Also the Gyjo is more 'Hate Fuck Buddies to Friends With Benefits to Lovers' but there isn't a tag for that so
> 
> Fun fact, I had over 30 pages of this written originally on my computer but for some reason Word decided to destroy the entire document :) So I'm starting over and I'm still angry af so I probably won't update for quite some time until I catch up to where I originally was.

* * *

It happened one hundred and seven years ago, which is common knowledge. The entire human race except the island of Paradis was devoured to extinction by giant creatures only known as Titans. The difference between mankind and their newfound enemy was overwhelming. In an effort to save themselves from annihilation, the surviving humans sealed themselves within three Walls that stood at fifty meters in height, to protect the remains of their pitiful race from the Titans.

The outermost wall is known as Wall Maria, the middle wall is Wall Rose and the final, innermost wall is Wall Sina. The area within the Walls is approximately equal. There is about 100kilometers between Maria and Rose about 130 kilometers between Rose and Sina and 250 kilometers between Sina and the centre. Each Wall has four outer protrusions at the north, east, west and south, serving as exit and entryways with compact towns within each. They were bait to attract the Titans, fulfilling the role of lowering cost to the military and defense to avoid fully breaching the Wall if an outer gate fell. As such if a district was breached by the Titans, the only way for the citizens to escape were through the single gate at the rear of their district which led to the farmlands.

Predominantly the lands within Wall Maria and Rose were farming, hunting and other resources while the central Wall Sina belonged to the King and nobility who lived in the most central city of Mitras. Yet deep within the bowels of Mitras was the Underground, planned to be a subterranean city but abandoned half way to completion which now instead thrived into a den of thieves and corruption.

In an effort to preserve the peace and avoid provoking an attack from the Titans the central government forbade holding interest or attempts to learn more about the lands beyond the Walls yet in recent years the King granted the military branch known as the Scouting Corps permission to explore the lands beyond Wall Maria.

No expedition has yet succeeded.

Then outside Wall Maria at the entry gate that led to the town of Shiganshina, at the bare light of dawn on a clear day, a fork of lightning lit the sky in a brief, instantaneous flash as the ground shook. Those within the town stopped to wonder what was the noise and those of the garrison, knowing Titans were only able to move with the sun, had not yet taken their place upon the Wall. So when a Titan went crashing through the Wall entry gates, leaving a hole fifteen metres in height behind, the entire town was stunned; debris killed some walking the road closest to the Wall and the exploding rocks went crashing into houses and crushing or trapping those inside. Scant seconds after the hole appeared Titans began to claw their way through.

And for the first time in over a hundred years, Titans entered the Walls.

A Titan covered in plated armour continued through the streets, traveling through the town of Shiganshina as dozens of its fellows fell upon the citizens and devouring them in the hundreds. Refugees fled through the rear gate leading from the town into the farmland, some taking the boat upon the river as a means to escape, as the Titans continued their advance. Then the call came to lower the gate for that entry, to seal shut the district; better to lose the town than have the entire Wall fall. It was their purpose, why living there was far cheaper than other places, as they could be used as a necessary sacrifice. Abandon a few to save the many. And so the call was issued to seal the town. 

The town died slowly as the sun rose. The Titan made its way to the opposite side of Shiganshina where the only exit to the farmlands was being lowered. It charged the gate, ignoring the canon blasts that knocked down its brethren but ricocheted off its glittering armour. Trampling Garrison troops underfoot it struck the partially lowered inner gate and smashed through the Wall, leaving a gaping hole behind. Those who'd fled the town watched the creature before it turned and retreated back within Shiganshina.

And in the year 845 Wall Maria fell and humanity was reminded that they were no more than birds trapped in a cage.

* * *


	2. Conscription

* * *

When the Titans entered the Walls for the first time in a century Narancia largely didn't care. Why would he? He didn't know anyone behind Maria, he didn't really care about all those random people. The ones he did care about were a precious select few that he lived with in the Underground, the subterranean city underneath Mitras. Right in the middle of the Walls. 

Still, he certainly _heard_ about how Maria fell. Saw everyone lose their minds over it, even in the Underground where the news spread like wildfire. Narancia may have been fifteen at the time the Wall fell but he hadn't survived for so long in the Underground by being unobservant and the panic that flooded the people over the news reached even the Underground, where most people were usually too sick or crooked to care about what happened above.

Titans were something of a myth in the middle of the Walls, or at the least something largely not spoken of or acknowledged. They just weren't common what with a century passing without breech and the only ones to see them were those who left on expeditions which without fail always unsuccessful. It was just something scoffed about, how the Survey Corps were useless and unneeded and a bunch of idiots, how all they were were bodies to throw at the Titans on taxpayers dime. Then when Wall Maria fell everything changed from the fairly consistent theme of humanity living peacefully within the Walls, people were in hysterics or panic while basic necessities skyrocketed in price and the cult which worshiped the Walls as Goddesses swelled with numbers. Narancia didn't notice much of it in all honesty. In the Underground necessities were already hard to come by, people threw fits over anything and the cult stayed above ground so Narancia didn't really see much of them anyway.

Fugo, a fellow gang member and one who introduced him to Passione, said the Wall cult was just people trying to find comfort in delusions, which Narancia was pretty inclined to believe. The Walls were, after all, exactly that, just giant walls. But Fugo said people were panicking, especially after a century of the Walls not being breached so they were acting stupid about it. Fugo also said the flood of refuges from Maria to Rose were straining resources and the food storage so everyone was going to starve in a few years.

Narancia thought that was bullshit until the 'Reclaim Maria' draft went into effect shortly after the breech; the royal government forcibly recruited refugees from Maria, a number that was around 250,000 and a quarter of the entire population, and then sent them beyond Rose in a fruitless effort to take back Wall Maria. Less than 200 returned, the rest devoured by the Titans. At the very least their deaths meant the rest wouldn't starve even if the lost of Maria impacted resources still.

'Eh, what can you do' Mista had shrugged when he and Narancia had read the paper about it. He had to agree since, to be frank, he didn't know anyone who lived behind Maria so whatever. All those people dying weren't personal for him. For Narancia his sphere of interest were within his gang, Passione. He cared for his fellow members, since they were his new family because his last one sucked, and that was it.

So the hundreds of thousands that died when Wall Maria fell Narancia just kinda acknowledged and then carried on with his life in the gang. Sure, it probably meant the other Walls were going to fall at one point but Narancia figured that would be quite a while away since it took a century for the first to go. And, from what he heard Titans were pretty big so they would have no way of squeezing themselves through the stairwells leading down to the Underground even if they did it sooner of later. Bruno scolded him when Narancia said as such, their leader pointing out if Rose and Sina fell they would starve to death and being trapped underground wasn't in anyway fun as it was. Narancia always hated it when Bruno scolded him, feeling like a disobedient child. Bruno never wanted him to join Passione, refusing the first time Fugo brought Narancia to him. Only when Narancia met the gatekeeper, Polpo, and passed the initiation test did he join the gang much to Bruno's displeasure but he couldn't rebuke the Boss's orders so he conceded.

Bruno was their leader of their particular gang branch, fairly stern but fair. He certainly didn't act how Narancia thought he would, assuming there would be more punishments or yelling or something. Instead Bruno was level headed and calm. His second, Abbacchio, was a lot more short tempered; to everyone _except_ Bruno. For a man who preened over his appearance near obsessively, including taking ridiculous care of his long snow-white hair to fastidiously keep it clean and straight, Abbacchio was as crass mouthed and violent as anyone born in the Underground which Narancia found funny. The two other members of their gang were Fugo and Mista, those two closer to Narancia's age. Fugo was the one who found him in the slums, when he was half blind from a severely infected eye and partially starved with scrawny limbs and stunted height. Fugo took him to Bruno, who took him to someone who was able to heal Narancia's infection and fed him. Narancia found it a bit strange at the time, especially since in the Underground it was near unheard of for someone to do something such as that without wanting a payback or favour. True, Bruno chased him away later when Narancia wanted to join the gang and he had to go behind Bruno's back but _whatever_ Narancia didn't regret it. 

Though sometimes he needed to kick the asses of his friends, especially Fugo since math was boring and even if he needed to be fully literate it really wasn't his fault Fugo had such a violent temper and fairly lousy teacher. Narancia just needed to stab him back sometimes, despite Bruno telling them off when they had a fight. Even if Fugo was a year younger than he was it didn't mean Narancia wasn't going to give him a hiding now and again even if it just kinda dissolved into a brawl but whatever. Mista was at least a lot more relaxed to hang around with, even if he would always use his pistol in jobs- guns were noisy and hard to come by so Mista guarded his with extremely diligence. Didn't stop Abbacchio from yelling at him to 'stop shoving it down your pants, you'll shoot your dick off you idiot' from time to time. Then again Abbacchio tended to yell whenever he wanted to they just kinda rolled with it.

Abbacchio, Narancia knew, used to be in the Military Police, the branch of soldiers tasked with guarding the King and nobility in Mitras. Unlike the Garrison or Survey Corps the Military Police didn't leave the capital and were fairly well known for being completely corrupt. Why he quit Narancia didn't really know and couldn't be bothered to ask. Though Abbacchio was the one who warned them most about Titans and had countless horror stories which Narancia was _fairly_ sure were bullshit.

Being part of Passione meant regular meals though and slowly and steadily Narancia put on weight that he sorely needed. He was still the shortest of the group despite being older than Fugo and only a year younger than Mista. His shaggy black hair slowly regained its shine and Bruno told him very bluntly he needed to bathe every few days, something Narancia wasn't really used to. Yet another benefit of being part of Passione- water wasn't such a rarity. Sure, he was basically stuck in the gang for life and he tried to leave or fucked up enough he'd be killed but whatever, Narancia thought consistent meals and baths was fair enough exchange, especially after Wall Maria fell and all those refugees were sent out to die. Even with a quarter of the population getting culled food was still scant enough. It also was why the military saw an increase in numbers, due to the soldiers being assured rations.

Near the same time that the Reclaim Wall Maria effort ended the current King, Fritz, abdicated, handing the throne over to an ex-soldier called Funny Valentine. He'd been nobility but still, the King abdicating for another was entirely unheard of for the past century but Fritz did so without complaint. There wasn't even a coup involved, much to Narancia's disappointment when he'd heard about it but Fritz was apparently really old and he'd overheard a few people call the ex-King an 'old fool' or even saying he was 'senile' so it was for 'everyone's own good he abdicated', especially with his lack of children to pass on the throne. Everyone loved the new King though, nobles and commoners alike. It was kinda weird though Narancia at the very least could somewhat respect a King who'd actually gone out and fought the Titans and lived to tell about it. The Survey Corps had a notoriously high death rate, even before Maria fell and the new King had also been part of the Military Police for a few years before joining the Survey Corps for half a decade.

After the first few months things settled back down somewhat. Wall Maria was gone and there was a fairly intense fear that the Titans would come for Rose but as the time passed without breach people settled somewhat. Narancia though had been very interested in the apparent 'Armoured' Titan which had smashed in the Wall though reports of the Abnormal was so rife with rumour he had no idea what to believe; the Armoured Titan was apparently twenty metres tall, covered in gold, covered in steel plates, covered in diamond, it jumped over the Wall, it was taller then the Wall, it could breath fire- honestly the list got so long Narancia didn't even know what to believe. He liked the idea that it was gold though. Maybe had jewels for eyes and diamond spikes on its fists. Fugo called him an idiot so Narancia ripped out a chunk of his straw-blond hair and they had a brawl in their gang quarters until Abbacchio's shouting stopped them and Narancia was then shooed out to do a messenger job upside.

Bruno always insisted they share their workload, rotating their shifts so they would at the least be above ground once a month for a few days at a time. Apparently the lack of sunlight is what caused a lot of the sickness in the Underground. Who knew. Narancia certainly didn't but being on the surface was nice, just simple stuff like the warmth of the sun and breeze even if he had a bleeding lip from the fight. There was none of that in the Underground, just the stale air and light from the lamps so he enjoyed the day as he skulked around for the address to drop off the envelope.

Still for gang work they had it fairly easy, mainly dealing with moving packages and letters or keeping an eye and ear out for betrayal or fighting. They weren't important enough to the Boss of Passione personally which meant they were at less risk in a way but they were sometimes tasked with killing rivals or people who couldn't keep their mouth shut. Narancia didn't mind those either, and in the Underground murder was kinda frequent and death didn't change even up above ground. They still had to be sneaky though, which Narancia found annoying but whatever. He always kept his pocket knife on hand just in case.

Truthfully no one had ever met the Boss of Passione. They only ever dealt with his orders, usually issued through his second in command Doppio. Narancia had seen Doppio exactly once at a distance and he wasn't really what Narancia would call threatening or even remotely scary looking, with a soft round face covered in freckles and big doe eyes. He also tripped over the doorway when leaving, nearly faceplanting on the floor. Not really what Narancia expected of the second, considering all the weird horrible shit he'd heard about the Boss and his torture methods and general murderous attitude. Figured his underling boss would be nasty as well.

Even so Bruno warned him afterwards that Doppio wouldn't have been chosen to be the Boss's second in command if he wasn't capable of it, even if he apparently acted like an airhead all the time. Narancia just kinda imagined someone all scary and stone faced, that looked like they could break necks with one hand while wearing a dark fancy suit and lurking in shadows or something. Not some short cheerful guy who wore a maroon sweater that looked hand knitted.

But still, no one knew what the Boss looked like or even if the Boss was actually a man as the Boss never showed up personally and no one ever met him. Narancia thought maybe the Boss was actually a really hot lady, like those rich snobs living in the mansions above. Mista suggested Doppio himself didn't met the boss and just got messages so even he didn't know. Fugo suggested that the Boss was actually numerous people, to make it even harder to track 'him' down. Abbacchio suggested that they shut up before they were found dead in a gutter somewhere with their eyes gouged out.

Bruno's gang got another member, nearly two years after Wall Maria fell and everything had essentially gone back to how it'd been before Maria fell. It was a fairly standard 'join or die' incident, and Bruno was the branch leader closest so he was ordered by the Boss to find the one who killed Luca and either forcibly recruit them or kill them. Luca had been another Passione member, unremarkable and not part of Bruno's branch from what Narancia could remember but he'd been found with his head caved in by a shovel after a skirmish with a stranger. Narancia had to admit he found that pretty interesting- especially since Luca's skull had been near split in half, so he'd been expecting Bruno to come back with someone huge and muscular, someone scary as hell.

Instead the almost waif-ish fifteen year old who was soft spoken and polite was the last type of person Narancia expected. 'Giorno Giovanna' as he introduced himself, placing a slender hand over his breastbone and bowing slightly like some noble from topside. He looked entirely out of place in the dark dank Underground, all clean clothes and shiny golden hair he kept pulled back in a neat braid and bangs looped into three coils above his brow. He also had an assortment of gold and red broaches on his clothing, which when Narancia asked said they were stylized after ladybugs. They looked expensive and Narancia kinda wanted one just because they were shiny. Still, Giorno had a very calm temperament which Narancia didn't expect from some guy who cleaved someones head in half with a shovel and he passed the initiation test with flying colours. Abbacchio certainly didn't like him.

Then again Abbacchio hated them all a little bit Narancia was sure, so he told Giorno to just give the tall man a few months or years and Abbacchio would settle down. Giorno calmly accepted it and thanked Narancia, still in his soft, controlled voice which kinda weirded out Narancia. Giorno was two years younger than Narancia but he acted like some overly-trained noble at times. He never shouted or raged or punched things even in a brawl he remained composed. Once he, Narancia and Mista got in a bar fight in the one of the many Underground pubs but that was mainly from Narancia calling one of the guys a dumbass and then getting him in the head with a tin cup. 

Giorno managed to kick the crap out of three guys entirely on his own, breaking ones elbow with a twist of his hands before grabbing the other and half spinning him across the table to bowl over his friend. Narancia got distracted by his own one-on-one brawl but turning around and seeing Giorno standing above three unconscious and bloodied men, all twice his size, and calmly setting the upended table back up was surprising. But hey, Narancia would totally support his fellow gang members especially if they could kick some ass. Narancia wasn't _jealous_ Giorno could beat the crap out of three guys on his own that easily either, he so totally wasn't.

So Giorno was pretty weird as their newest edition but at least not creepy weird. He didn't keep dead bodies in his room at their quarters or try cutting their hair to eat it or anything creepy like that. He was just quiet and watchful. Narancia did like it when he was paired up with Giorno when they were assigned surface jobs, since the blond would pickpocket various nobles so they would be able to buy some tasty snacks up on the surface. Food was a lot better up in the city then the Underground and Narancia especially liked the cinnamon donuts. Giorno would always insist they eat fresh fruit though. Something about 'scurvy' or something else Narancia didn't really know about but hey if Giorno fed him Narancia was willing to nod along.

He also reminded Narancia of something. He wasn't sure what the word was- 'snob' was too rude and Giorno wasn't and it didn't fit but Narancia couldn't think of the word.

_Poised, that was it! He's super poised,_ Narancia thought triumphantly, doing a brief fist pump. Across the table Giorno blinked at him. They were sitting at the outside tables of a small cafe in Mitras, near the edge of the city. Several blocks away were the entry tunnel to the Underground but Narancia and Giorno didn't have to return down there until the following evening so they were using one of the nearby Passione safe houses until they retrieved some random package to take back with them. The sun was bright, Narancia swaying in his chair and munching on the slices of a caramelized pear. Giorno was a lot neater with pear, carefully cutting up each slice into small chunks before using the fork to eat. Narancia just picked up each slice and stuffed it in his mouth before swallowing it then licking his fingers clean.

Ignoring Giorno's inquisitive blue-eyed stare Narancia munched on another wedge of pear. It was so sugary and good. He scoffed down one of the pears, licking his syrupy hand once he was done before shifting his attention to the next. On the street next to them countless people wandered back and forth, all nicely dressed and obviously noble compared with his fairly dark and basic clothing. His ever present bright orange headband didn't really help but Narancia didn't care. Giorno meanwhile fit right in with his immaculate appearance, down to his clothes and hair. Not a thread out of place.

After a moment of silence Narancia shifted his attention back to Giorno who was delicately sipping from his cup. His bright blond hair glowed in the sun and it was basically a calling card that he didn't grow up in the Underground; lack of sun and food didn't really do favours to them in general, usually leaving their skin patchy or thin, nails browned with hair limp and lackluster. Giorno clearly wasn't born there and Narancia realized he didn't actually know that much about his fellow gang member, despite Giorno being with them for over a month.

"Were you around Wall Maria when it fell?" Narancia asked bluntly, "I mean like, you came from Maria or somethin'?"

Giorno shook his head, barely blinking at the sudden question, "No, I was born in Sina. I haven't been beyond that Wall. A terrible tragedy it was however, when the first one failed."

"Eh people die," Narancia waved a hand, plucking up another pear slice as he said, "Just kinda what they do ya know."

Giorno didn't reply, instead just watching Narancia with an unreadable expression as he ate a slice of pear. His posture was straight and proper on the chair, ankles crossed and fingers lightly resting on the tabletop when he wasn't cutting up the fruit or drinking. He also sat super still while Narancia was always squirming or sighing or scratching. He just couldn't stay still unlike Giorno. Even the rest of the gang had a habit of fidgeting but instead Giorno would just sit there and do his best statue impersonation.

"We are fortunate to be in the heart of the Walls, not within the teeth of the Titans" Giorno said quietly. His expression was completely blank like a creepy mask.

"Well I mean yeah, kinda what everyone wants to live here?" Narancia said in confusion. Giorno was pretty weird.

"It is much like that Reclaim effort," Giorno's features hardened, "It was entirely for naught and everyone knew it to be so."

"Kill a few to save a lot, ain't that the motto? Stopped us from starving."

"For Sina? Perhaps." Giorno said cryptically before taking another delicate sip of his drink.

 _Man, he is so weird._ Narancia thought with a giggle. Entertaining weird though which was fine. A part of him wanted to push on Giorno, since he knew next to nothing about the blond's background or even his family but then again Narancia got pissed off if people interrogated him so he just decided to drop it. Maybe he'd poke later since they had another day left above ground.

Eventually they finished and began to make their way back to the current safehouse as evening fell across Mitras. They'd usually just flit around, keeping an eye out for anyone and a package. Kinda boring but the fresh air was great. Narancia liked it when it rained, though, even if he got scolded for sitting outside during the rare downpours he was upside for. As they were walking side by side down one of the wide streets something caught Narancia's eye, his body perking up in interest as he stalled. 

His change caught Giorno's attention who stopped to turn with a slight frown on his face, "Is everything alright?"

"Actually...I'll meet you back at the place, I gotta do something back there," Narancia said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

Giorno stared at him for a long moment, not moving beyond a slow blink. His scrutiny made Narancia nervous but he crossed his arms, letting an edge creep into his voice as he said, "Hey, I've been in the gang longer than you so I can do other shit up here. You go back to the hideout, I've got stuff to do."

Giorno just kept staring at him, silently and for long enough Narancia had to fight the urge to fidget. Then he dipped his chin down in a faint nod, voice soft as he said, "As you say." Then without a backwards glance he turned and continued walking down the wide brick road. 

Narancia relaxed minutely as Giorno fell out of sight, before turning back and trotting a few yards back down the street and then veering into one of the narrow alleyways. Half a building down he found what he'd spotted earlier; on one of the large mansion blocks a window on ground level had been left ajar. Narancia had done more than his fair share of raids on noble housing and considering how intertwined Passione was with the Military Police he saw no harm in snooping when he got the chance, especially a mistake so blatant. Not like the nobles were hurting for cash so he'd swipe a few things for fencing and that would be it.

Easily he hefted himself up through the window, shoes landing silently on thick lush carpet. One look around the room caused him to let out a low whistle; while they were near the edge of Mitras where the lesser nobles lived whoever own the place was clearly rich. The pelts of exotic beasts were draped on the walls, strange orange and black stripes or speckled furs of creatures long extinct. The other wall was covered in packed bookcases, and the other had a huge family portrait. He crept across the living room, dodging a plush sofa to peer up at the picture; there were four children smiling, including a fairly stern looking young woman woman with long dark hair hugging a smaller sibling, and slightly behind them were an older man with short black hair, clasping hands with his wife. _Boring._

Sneaking around the living room he checked the empty oil lamp, noting the base was made from gold. The carpet softened his footsteps and he couldn't hear any activity in the house. Even so his ever present pocket knife was nice weight. He'd just stab anyone if they burst him on him. Not lethally obviously but just a poke to scare them off. He did stuff some of the golden coins left in a small box on the nearby shelf into his pocket before creeping across the room and trying one of the door handles. 

It led to a small study, just as lavish as the living room. The desk was made from old shiny oak with genuine leather chairs. The air smelled stuffy, as if the window hadn't been open for a long time. Ignoring the smell he inched around the desk and eyed the walls; more oil paintings and a tapestry of a weird kinda sunset. On the desk there was an empty inkwell, a worn book and dusty oil lamp. There was also a plaque near the edge and he reached out to pick it up, watching the material shimmer in the sunlight as he read the name emblazoned across it.

 _'Rod Reiss'?_ Narancia scoffed internally, _What kind of stupid-ass name is that?_ Tossing aside the plaque Narancia continued to snoop, picking up the solid silver ash tray and stuffing it in his pocket as he did so.

He left the office, mentally thinking over how much the coins and ash tray would fetch; if they were genuine then it would be a pretty nice amount. Going through the living room Narancia snuck over to the other door, poking his head out into the hallway and then sidling into it. The place was large and well kept, obviously someone with enough maids to keep the place nice and there were even more pelts and weird animal heads on the walls. Narancia squinted up at some of them, having no idea what the animals even were- some looked like a weird mix and match.

So distracted looking up at the stuffed head of some demented cow like animal that he was too late to pick up on the faint noise of clothes shifting, the click of buckles as someone ghosted into the room behind him from the door at the far end. Narancia barely had time to yelp before the Military Police member charged him and tackled him roughly to the floor, breath being knocked from his lungs as he was slammed face first into the carpet.

"You're under arrest!" The woman shouted even as Narancia thought _shit._

* * *

The cell was square, with stone walls and bars and no windows. Narancia was seated before a rickety desk, having been sitting for nearly two hours with only the door guard for company. Narancia felt apprehensive but refused to show it even if a level of bewilderment still churn in his head. _Why were the Military Police so quick to come to this guy's house? They usually don't care about this unless it's like...the high nobility. But this guy is just a random one. What the fuck? The Military Police are in the pocket of Passione. Why'd they bring me here?_

He dozed for a while, leaning back with his face titled up towards the ceiling. There was a fairly intense cobweb in the corner and even as he watched the long limbs a spider crept across the delicate threads. Then a distant _clang_ echoed through the air and he straightened up as footsteps grew louder and louder. Within a minute a fairly unremarkable man was staring in the cell at him, brown hair and brown eyes with a plain face. He was wearing the brown and white Military Police uniform, with the horse-head patch sewn on each shoulder.

With brisk movements the man unlocked the cell door and stepped inside, the door clanging loudly behind him. A folder of papers were tucked under one arm and when he settled in the chair opposite Narancia, unfolding it and then shuffling through the sheets. Narancia glared while the man and the guard ignored him.

Eventually the man spoke, voice bland and unassuming, "Due to the fall of Maria more and more nobles have been looking to their King and the Military Police to enforce order and civilization on the people especially in such stressful times. Because of this, harsher penalties have been enforced on those breaking the laws. Lawlessness would destroy the remains of Paradis and we lack the resources and care to rehabilitate every criminal we come across."

"Oh whatever, I gave back that shit so what the fuck is the big deal?" Narancia snapped. He'd been roughly frisked and everything taken from his pockets after being hauled down to the jail. He clenched his fists, the handcuffs around his wrists rattling with the motion. Giorno was probably waiting outside to say 'I told you so' to his face.

The man's brown eyes flicked up to him before looking back down at one of his pieces of paper, saying, "However Lord Reiss has expressed a desire for mercy for you despite your crimes. That is the only reason you were even brought in the station alive. If it weren't for him you would have been shot in the street for 'resisting' arrest. As for your...affiliations, they are noted and are not deemed important in this current investigation."

Narancia twitched, realizing what the man meant. He was stuck in a cell because apparently this 'Reiss' had enough clout the MP's were overlooking their own corruptness. _Shit, who is that guy? I've never heard of him. Is he close to the new King? Shit._

"So you have two options left to you, they are non negotiable," the man told him, expression bored as he flicked through the pieces of paper, "You either chose execution, in which case you will be taken to the back of the station and executed via firing squad. Your body will be held for twenty four hours for any next of kin to collect and if not it will be disposed of in the local waterway. The other option is to be drafted into the military. You will be unable to drop out of training and will either succeed or die trying for the three year period. If you pass it will be mandatory for you to join the Survey Corps and to serve a minimum of five years. If you are alive after these five years your case will be reviewed. If you pass then you may retire from service but if not you will continue your service for another five years and then your case will be reviewed once again."

"So that's it?" Narancia said incredulously. Both options sounded like shit. He knew the Survey Corps was basically a death sentence, only instead of a bullet to the head or a knife in the gut it was being eaten by a Titan.

"Yes. Also note if you refuse to join the military and chose execution, any known associates of yours will also be placed under immediate investigation," the man finally looked at Narancia, eyes cold and calculating. 

Narancia wanted nothing more than his knife to stab them out of the bastard's head. He wasn't stupid, no matter what Fugo yelled at him. Narancia knew it meant the rest of Passione would become under investigation. The Military Police were corrupt, everyone knew that, so the Boss basically had no problems whatsoever with them. If what the man said was true and that Reiss guy was important enough it would actually _force_ the MP's to act on the King's orders, then Narancia wasn't stupid enough to think the Boss wouldn't throw them to the wolves in an instant. He'd heard about what the Boss had done to underlings who'd pissed him off, how he'd dismembered one alive piece by piece while his lover was forced to watch before he managed to suffocate himself. And that was only for the two trying to figure out who the Boss really was, which was kept to the Underground. If the Boss found out Narancia brought down the Military Police's scrutiny, the King _himself_ ordering it due to Narancia's reckless actions...

The Boss would kill them all. He would most likely know the instant Narancia refused with his connections in the MP, would probably have Narancia's friends killed before he even left the station to be shot. That or he'd have them taken somewhere to be tortured to death. He had no choice.

"...Fine," Narancia finally said, hating how his voice cracked.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Fine what?"

"Fine, I'll join the fucking military!" Narancia's voice rose to a shout, angry tears burning his eyes.

The man didn't even hesitate to pluck up the stamp, smacking it on the piece of paper while saying, "Very well. Narancia Ghirga you are hereby conscripted into the military of Paradis island. You will leave immediately with the caravan to travel to the training grounds for the current training corps. Failure to appear at the training grounds will result in any known associates of yours to be placed under immediate investigation and for you to be labeled in contempt of law and executed on sight."

Narancia was roughly grabbed by the guard, pulled to his feet even as he protested, "What the fuck, I need to talk to my friends-"

"You can send them a letter at the first checkpoint," the man snapped, forcing Narancia from the cell and down the hallway with an iron grip, "As of now you belong to the military."

* * *


	3. Recruitment

* * *

The military doctor had long blond hair that fell past his broad shoulders and skin bronzed from hours in the sun. His tall form was muscled from years of physical exertion, calloused fingers flipping over the sheets of paper on his desk. His beard had been clipped into a bizarre line of squares along his jawline and as Johnny glared at him the man parted his green painted lips slightly, showing the glint of a golden grill fixed to his teeth. The words _Go! Go! Zeppeli!_ were embossed on the slick gold.

Johnny hated him instantly.

Until then Johnny had gone through all the typical bureaucratic ropes for apply to the military. He'd handed in all the requested paperwork and had been accepted, shortly after leaving the nobility quarters of Mitras through Sina and leaving to join the current training grounds where the accepted applicants will go through three years of training. The ride there had been boring and uneventful, with Johnny ignoring the other recruits and staring blandly through the towns and farmlands they passed. They weren't the first to depart and wouldn't be the last but Johnny didn't care either way. He was just focused on himself and ignored any attempts by others to speak to him. Reaching the training grounds for recruits took nearly a week what with it being situated in a massive natural quarry, far enough from local towns to avoid any curious bypassers. On one end were numerous large cabins, sleeping quarters and mess halls. But there were also the smaller ones further to the side where all the teachers and supervisors were. Once Johnny and the other recruits that traveled on the same wagon arrived, they were checked off by one of the soldiers onsite. When they were unpacking their belongings the soldier approached Johnny, telling him that the head medical personnel had requested to speak with him.

So he'd followed the woman to one of the cabins, navigating through the hallway until she ushered him into the end room. There he'd sat down, been stared at for nearly a minute straight, before the doctor deigned to speak to him.

"Don't join the military," the man finally said, green eyes as hard as slithers of sea glass, "Using maneuver gear requires strong lower body muscles, balance and control to use them effectively. I've read your medical files- with for a noble you should know they are extensive and intact -and you have currently been diagnosed with dermatomyositis which causes muscle weakness and rashes, claudication which causes cramping pain in your leg muscles as well as a fairly severe case of dystonia in the muscles of your lower body which causes repetitious muscle contractions, distortion and seizure." 

Ignoring him Johnny shifted his attention towards around the room. The doctor's office looking like any military office; wall and floors made from polished wood, a single giant window that took up one whole wall and letting the sunlight stream in warm rays across them, a heavy desk with numerous folders and papers stacked upon it, a bookcase took up one wall and on the other was numerous locked filing cabinets. There was a small plaque set in front of an oil lamp with the name _Gyro Zeppeli_ stamped on it and a dented coffee cup with the faded image of butterflies was resting at an angle on a folder. The weirdest thing Johnny found about the office- beating out even the medic himself -was the small pink teddy bear sitting on the desk next to the man's elbow, wearing its own miniature personalized Survey Corps outfit with its soulless button eyes staring at Johnny.

The doctor, Gyro, hissed through his gold capped teeth before he slapped shut the folder. Johnny, fairly reluctantly, pulled his attention back to Gyro who was now glaring at him while leaning back in his leather chair. Johnny just sat there, face bored as the blond man eyed him for a long moment before speaking in a flat tone.

"In my opinion as one of the head doctors in the military and the longest living medical personnel on the Survey Corps, do not join the military. You don't have the physical strength or perseverance to succeed at the training required of all recruits. All it will do is cause undue strain on your body and most likely worsen your existing injuries or cause permanent harm."

"With all due respect, I don't give a shit about your professional opinion," Johnny said.

Gyro straightened up, nostrils flaring as he set his jaw in a ridged line. He linked his long fingers together hard enough his knuckles began to press white against his skin. The sun streaming through the window made his blond hair burn a warm gold but when he spoke his words were ice cold.

"Of course, I'm just a doctor." Gyro said sarcastically, green painted lips curling into a sneer, "What could I possibly know about health or I dunno, stopping people from injuring themselves further?"

"You're the military," Johnny scoffed, "Aren't you lot always looking for more bodies to throw at the Titans? I'm here, aren't I?"

"It's a bit more altruistic than that, but sure make up shit if you want," Gyro said, "Don't make my point any less correct. At most you'll be a liability. The fact you're even here shows how desperate and stupid those officers are to accept you in the first place. That or they have no idea what these disabilities even are. Most likely a mix of both."

"It doesn't matter how shitty my legs are. I can still walk and run. Jump and whatever." Johnny said. He decided to not even mention all the nights he'd been woken by his muscles cramping or knotting, how sometimes they'd stiffen and making his legs seize. Whatever, he'd dealt with that crap before ever since he'd been knifed in the back. Doing it in the military wouldn't be too much of a challenge since at least it meant he had a high pain tolerance. And well maybe he can't run very well but he can still do it.

"You're listed down as lesser nobility," Gyro said, ignoring Johnny's words while tapping a green-pained nail on the folder, "Even though your parents are deceased, all their assets have been passed to you including their titles. Because of it you won't be conscripted. Not even in this current climate would endanger your status so there's no point to you being here."

"So? The government didn't care when that two hundred thousand-odd people got sent out to be eaten," Johnny snapped, "Why'd they care if I cause myself permanent harm if its my own choice? I'm the last of my family. I don't give a shit if the name dies out with me. I don't care about my nobility. It's not even that strong of a line anymore. It can die."

"It's still not the weakest, even with you being the last," Gyro told him. Johnny longed to punch the man's face. The dispassionate manner he spoke, without any emotion beyond pointed derision and an edge of sarcasm, was pissing Johnny off immensely and he had to clench his hands into the fabric of his pants to fight off the urge to curl them into fists. 

"I don't care." Johnny eventually managed to say through clenched teeth, "I'm in the middle of selling all the remaining assets anyway. Most of the land is gone and same goes for the stables and horses."

"So why don't you just retire? A horse alone is a typical worker's year salary. Just sit and drink yourself into a stupor each night."

"And it's my choice to join the military. You should be frothing at the mouth for more recruits," Johnny said irritably, nails digging into the fabric of his pants as his upper left eyelid began to twitch.

Gyro grunted, "True, since Maria fell there's been quite a demand for more recruits especially in the Survey Corp. Goddess knows the high death count doesn't really endear people to it but hey, we're kinda fucked being down a Wall and the military has pretty good food rations all things considered. But anyway, my point still stands- your health history is bad enough you'd be a liability at best."

"If that's the case then I would fail the training and be sent back that way." Johnny said.

"People die during the three years of training," Gyro told him in an overly slow tone, as if Johnny were a thick-headed child.

"I'm aware of that. It's something I'm prepared for," he said stiffly. His back ached with a familiar pulse of pain, protesting the days he'd spent sitting in a wagon and now on the hard backed chair of the office. Despite it he refused to let any of his discomfort show, just staring balefully at the long haired man opposite him.

Gyro watched him for a long moment before flicking through the folder. There was an uncomfortable silence as he read through the files again with Johnny glaring at him sullenly.

"It says here you had an older brother named Nicolas. He was enlisted in the Survey Corps a little over ten years ago and is labeled as K.I.A. Is he the reason you're enlisting? Some sentimental notion of 'honouring' his memory or something?"

Johnny didn't respond, even if his jaw muscles began to ache from how tight his teeth were clenched. He stared at the medic with an unblinking glare, breathing slightly tense but refusing to show anything else. Gyro gazed back at him, even shaking the folder at him as if to urge a response. Johnny's response was a sullen silence.

"Alright fine, so let's presume you have a death wish," Gyro was the one to break the staring contest, shifting to pick up his mug to swallow down a mouthful of cold coffee before sitting it back down with a clatter, "There are neater ways to do it rather than wasting everyone's time. Just go back to Mitras and drink yourself to death or something."

"I'm joining the Survey Corps."

"Physical strength is imperative for anyone using maneuver gear," Gyro leaned back in his chair, the leather squeaking at the movement, "Especially leg strength. Your legs aren't up to snuff. I severely doubt you'll even past the first week basic balance test."

"It doesn't matter, I'm joining the Survey Corps," Johnny's face was set in a deep scowl, blue eyes narrowed in an ugly glare.

"Thirty percent of Scouts die in their first expedition, the majority in their first year," Gyro told him.

"Then I die."

"You're going to die during training far before that."

"So I die then, problem solved." Johnny said.

Another silence but Gyro seemed more annoyed this time. Johnny had no idea what the medic's problem was or why he was being persistent; it was Johnny's life and he could do whatever he wanted with it. _He has no fucking right to lecture me over this._

"But hey, good news is that it isn't solely up to me about whether or not we reject applications. Because you're right, we just want to throw some people down Titans throats and Goddess knows people aren't lining up to join the military," Gyro said, his tone suddenly shifting from cold and hostile to overly chipper, "So despite the fact I thoughtfully believe this is a garbage idea, I have unfortunately been overruled since we need 'every body available'. I'd hoped that, perhaps, logic and sense actually meant something to you or some of my fellows but obviously I was wrong."

Johnny blinked at the man, a bit taken aback by Gyro's switch in mood, before he said incredulously, "So what, you were just giving me passive aggressive advice?" 

"I was _hoping_ that perhaps you weren't a moron but obviously I was incorrect. I don't have the authority on my own to reject your application and send you back to your mansion so guess we'll see when the first week initial testing commences. Have fun making a fool of yourself in front of the entire training group I guess." Gyro then threw the small folder at him, Johnny barely catching it before it smacked him in the face as Gyro continued with a wooden smile, "Welcome to the military, Johnny Joestar. Now get the fuck out of my office."

* * *


	4. The 104th Cadet Corps

* * *

"We shall now begin the enlistment ceremony for the one hundred and fourth Training Corps! Unfortunately for you, I Keith Shadis, have been assigned to be your instructor!" The heavily wrinkled man screamed at them, his dark eyes ringed with heavy bags and his bald head gleaming in the sun streaming down upon them. His expression twisted as he continued shouting, "I have not the slightest inclination to welcome you! As of now, you are simply cattle to fatten up the Titans!"

Narancia felt his attention wandering as the man continued to rage and scream; whatever, Fugo _and_ Abbacchio could shout louder than that 'Keith Shadis' guy. Instead his gaze slid away from the man and over the fellow cadets arranged around him, all standing straight in ridged lines and with one clenched fist resting against the small of their backs and the other resting over their hearts in the military salute.

The cadets were all standing in neat rows, spread out across the training field of hard baked earth. They were clad in basic military uniforms with short light brown jackets with the cross-sword emblem of the Training Corps emblazoned across the back, white shirts and trousers with knee high brown leather boots.

"In three years when you find yourself facing a Titan will you still be mere prey?! Or will you be an honourable wall to protect the King? Or perhaps a glorious soldier of mankind that exterminates the Titans? Decide for yourselves!" Shadis was still yelling while Narancia struggled not to fall asleep in the warm sunlight. They never had sun in the Underground, which was one of the causes for the rampant illnesses down there and on the times he was top side he was usually busy with gang stuff. He didn't really expect it to make him so tired though. Little wonder cats loved it so much. He just wanted to fall backwards on the ground and have a nap.

Instead he forced himself to stand upright as the instructor began to prowl through the lines. When all the eligible recruits finally arrived at the training grounds they'd had their sizes checked to be issued a standard uniform. Then they'd been ordered to line up to be assessed by the instructor who just seemed fond of yelling at everyone. Narancia could kinda relate as he felt the urge to scream every so often after he'd gotten conscripted. At least he'd been allowed to keep his orange headband and pocket knife but Narancia had been fairly pissed when the soldier warned him if he used the knife on a fellow member of the military there would be severe consequences i.e execution. _As if I didn't fucking already know._

The whole thing left him immensely pissed off but he was still glad to be able to keep the knife. He'd had it before he even joined Passione and didn't want to part with it. He always took care of it. However since he was on one of the last wagons to arrive he hadn't really had the time to poke around the training grounds before being given his uniform and ordered to form up. He hadn't even gotten time to send off a letter to Bruno to let him know about the whole thing- the wagon had moved consistently and the soldier leading it had just said 'You can send a letter when you're at the training grounds' until Narancia had wanted to punch them in the throat. So he resigned himself to having wait another day before letting him know but Narancia had a feeling the Boss probably already knew. The fact Narancia wasn't dead already seemed like a good thing though as he knew Passion had a dedicated assassination group. It still made him nervous, not knowing if an agent was going to kill him for messing up so badly.

Trying to drag his mind away from brooding Narancia peered through the trainees standing in front of him. The instructor, Shadis, was now walking through the lines of recruits after having stopped his yelled welcome at some point. Some trainees he stopped to shout and interrogate with but others he passed by without saying a word. Narancia had been born and raised in the Underground so he also caught the way those exempt of Shadis' heckling carried themselves. Just their stance or the cold expressions on their faces; meant they'd seen and lived through some things which made them a far harder target compared with a lot of the other recruits. Narancia eyed them absentmindedly, not really paying much attention to Shadis' yelling. 

He did, however, notice when Shadis headbutted one of the recruits with a dull _crack_ , the blow felling a tall boy with pale beige hair. The headbutt sent him collapsing to his knees in a huddle, clutching his head while Narancia struggled not to giggle. _Hah, loser. Can't even handle that shit._

"Someone who can't succeed here won't make it into the Military Police brigade!" Shadis spat at the recruit's collapsed form before turning away with a swirl of his coattails, stomping further down the line and closer to Narancia.

Oh right. Narancia had nearly forgotten that the top ten of their class were eligible to join the Military Police, the division that were allowed to stay within Mitras to protect the King and nobility. Abbacchio had been an MP but resigned at one point but Narancia knew enough the Military Police was the most favourable branch for the military because they were secure in the centre of the Walls were they were most likely never going to encounter a Titan. They were also widely known to be corrupt and Narancia was still pissed off he'd been arrested. _One time they couldn't be bribed, fuckers._

At least the boots they gave him were genuine leather. They smelled really good and were really comfortable so that wasn't all bad.

"You there!" Narancia blinked as Shadis was suddenly screaming in his face, loud enough it sent his black bangs fluttering "Who the hell are you?!"

"Narancia Ghirga, from the Underground," he said, leaning back slightly from how close Shadis was. The man's eyes were pinpricks and Narancia wondered if he was on drugs or something. Would explain a lot.

"And why are you here, cadet?!"

"I don't even wanna be here, I got conscripted," Narancia said truthfully.

Shadis' face approached a colour close to purple, his expression twisted up so much Narancia thought he was having a stroke. Then the man's forehead collided hard with Narancia's own as the man suddenly headbutted him, much like how he'd done with the other trainee.

Narancia swayed at the impact, eyes twitching and fists clenching with the effort to not yank out his knife from his side pocket and slice Shadis' throat open with it. The pain was hardly the worst Narancia had felt- in fact the headbutt wasn't even that strong, certainly not compared to Fugo's punches -and he forced down his knee jerk violent reaction. He knew there were be a backlash if he killed an instructor and he agreed to the whole 'military' crap to keep his friends out of trouble. So he swallowed down the murderous rage clawing at his throat and brain, instead meeting Shadis' eyes and giving the instructor his cutest smile.

Shadis stared at him, wrinkles deepening as he scowled. Narancia just stood there, smile stretching until it was almost demented looking, but otherwise didn't react. Then Shadis' body stiffened, his bulging eyes sliding to stare over Narancia's shoulder as his attention shifted somewhere else. Tentatively he followed the man's gaze to where he was glaring at a trainee standing in the line behind him who was in the middle of eating a steamed potato. Even as they stared she raised the potato and took another bite out of it, her thick pony tail swaying with her munching.

Barely a second later Shadis was screaming in her face, moving away from Narancia so quickly he couldn't follow it. Narancia decided to ignore all that yelling, instead inhaling deeply as he struggled to keep himself still. It was so hard to not just gut the instructor but Narancia had to keep himself still. Not react. The blow wasn't that hard, anyway. Narancia could deal with it. He was tougher than a lot of these idiots who willingly joined the military.

Behind him the shouting started up again from Shadis but Narancia leaned back slightly as he ignored it, eyes sliding shut as he titled up his face towards the warm sun as the throbbing in his head turned into a dull ache. _Maybe it won't be so bad._

* * *

"Hey, that potato girl is still running."

Narancia looked up from where he was sitting on the porch of the mess hall cabin, legs dangling over the edge as they waited for dinner to be ready. On the other side of the field he could see a small form running with exhausted movements across the grounds. Loitering behind him were several other recruits, now dressed in casual, watching the girl still running in the distance.

"Yeah, she's been running for around five hours now," one said, "Her reaction when she was told to start running was nothing compared to when she was told she wouldn't be allowed any food."

The kid with a shaved head said, "She said she's from Dauper, didn't she? Dauper's a small hunting village up in the mountains right?"

"Hey, what's that?" Someone else said, ignoring the boy's question while pointing at a horse-drawn wagon making its way up the sloped ramp leading from the training camp.

"Drop outs. They're requested a transfer to the reclaimed lands," the boy with shaggy hair said, expression troubled.

"Already? It's only been the first day."

"That's just how it is," the boy said with a forlorn look, "The weak have no choice but to leave. They prefer picking up rocks and pulling weeds..."

Narancia scoffed at that; he'd heard that snobby tone before, on the nobles and all the other rich assholes who'd turned their noses up at him and the rest who lived in the Underground. His snort got him looks from all of them and he looked up at the scraggy haired boy, baring his teeth at him in an unfriendly gesture.

"I mean you're stupid if you think all that farm crap isn't hard," Narancia said, "You're really dumb if you think that's weak. It's making _food_. Go eat some garbage then, if you're too snob for it." Giorno had told him enough about farming or 'agriculture' that Narancia loathed the idea of being a farmer and how tedious it sounded even if he loved food. He preferred just stabbing people and moving packages; raising crops sounded so incredibly boring he'd probably go mad within a week of sitting around watching plants grow.

The boy stared at him and Narancia stared back; he'd tried to make food enough to know how much of a pain in the ass even just that was. Bruno usually roped him into and it pissed him off because there was a really weird amount of stuff in food and had to be enough, or not enough, to make it edible. Also he really liked bread and that took a lot of crap to make, reminding him of all the times he'd filched food before to avoid starving. Fresh food in the Underground was a rarity unless you had the connections and Narancia had eaten a lot of moldy or rotten food before being brought into Passione. That and maybe that shaggy haired kid's face was really pissing Narancia off for some reason and he was _still_ pissed over being conscripted and Shadis' headbutting him.

After a tense silence the boy finally said stiffly, "They're prefer toiling in a field over fighting back, over killing Titans and actually helping humanity."

"You're a total moron." 

"I'm not!" he bristled, clenching his fists, "One of the reasons I'm here is because I know how much we _need_ to fight back and nothing will happen if we stay cowering behind the Walls like cowards, waiting to be eaten!" 

"Oh yeah, you wanna fight me you little shit?" Narancia demanded, jumping up to his feet. He'd give that snobby little fuck the punch out of his life-

"Woah hey!" The boy with freckles quickly shoved himself between them, hands held up in placation, "We shouldn't fight each other!"

"Who the fuck are you, huh?" Narancia snapped, ignoring how much taller the other boy was. He had his knife in his pocket and wondered how uppity they'd get with stab wounds, snarling out, "You wanna mummy him or some shit? Fuck you-"

This time the boy with blond hair intervened this time, swatting the shaggy haired boy's shoulder who had his teeth bared in a feral look as he said, "Eren, stop it! You don't want to get kicked out because you were starting fights with the other recruits, do you?"

The boy, Eren, tensed before giving his friend a sharp look. Then slowly he relaxed, grumbling something under his breath but allowing the blond to nudge him away from Narancia. Narancia scowled, nerves thrumming in anticipation for a fight that looked disappointingly less likely. He wanted a fight, just something to vent his frustrations out on so he let out an irritated huff as Eren backed off. He doubted the little snot had ever been in a _real_ fight before. _Whatever, I'll get him later._

"You're the one from the Underground aren't you?" the boy with freckles eventually asked him after a tense silence.

"Yeah. Dunno who you are though," Narancia said with a shrug, "I kinda blanked out when that Shadis guy was yelling at everyone and didn't really notice."

The boy laughed, "Oh, I think that's the usual military greeting apparently. Make sure we've got the mental fortitude to be soldiers. I'm Marco, that's Connie and Mina," he said, gesturing to the bald boy and the girl with her dark hair done in loose pigtails.

"I'm Armin," the blond boy added, smiling awkwardly, "And this is Eren." Eren just looked grumpy next to him.

"Hey, Eren," Marco said, turning to him with a smile, "That reminds me, you weren't asked to state your name or birthplace."

"Oh, I'm from Shiganshina district, just like this guy," Eren said while clapping a friendly hand on Armin's shoulder.

Connie stepped forward, eagerness on his face as he asked, "So you were there _that_ day right?"

"Hey-" Marco turned to him with a frown but Connie ignored it.

"Did you catch a glimpse of it? The Armoured Titan?" 

That banished Narancia's rage in an instant, perking up at the prospect of an eye witness to the fall of Wall Maria. It happened two years ago but Narancia was still so interested in it- actually moreso the Armoured Titan since apparently all the others that crawled into the Wall were more or less the usual kind. 

That however was shoved to the back when the door to the mess hall swung open and they were curtly told their dinner was ready, most of the trainees already waiting inside. The prospect of food distracted Narancia even more.

"Like I said, I saw everything," Eren was saying, clearly annoyed as he tried to eat dinner. A cluster of eager recruits were grouped loosely around the table, watching Eren poke at his stew with eager expressions. Narancia had trailed along with them, eager to know about the Titans as well.

"Really?" One asked, awe thick in his voice.

"So you saw it? I heard it was as big as the Wall!"

"No I heard it jumped over the Wall, that's how big it was."

"That's what I heard in my village as well!"

Eren sighed like a teacher rapidly losing patience, "No, it wasn't that big."

Narancia elbowed away a recruit, asking Eren, "So what did it really look like? The Armoured Titan that smashed down Wall Maria. I heard it was gold and sparkly and had glowing eyes-"

"That's what people are calling it but it just looked like an average Titan to me," Eren shrugged, lifting a spoonful of stew to his mouth.

"Oh well you suck then," Narancia said as he turned away. _Damnit._ Figured someone who actually saw the whole thing happen was a moron and couldn't remember anything. 

As he walked to the front of the mess hall an argument broke out behind him but Narancia followed his nose to pick up a bowl of stew. The stew was a strange greyish colour and Narancia wasn't sure if it really was stew or gruel or maybe a weird combination of both. Either way it was hot, didn't taste as nasty as it looked, and came with a small loaf of bread that tasted pretty good. The meaty chunks in the stew were also real meat so that helped.

Narancia settled down on one of the benches, ignoring the other recruits as he chewed his way through the meal. There was some more arguing from Eren only this time he was bickering with the tall boy with beige coloured hair- the one Shadis' had headbutted. Narancia giggled, still finding it rather funny how that guy couldn't even handle a headbutt. He would've been eaten alive down in the Underground. Maybe literally, depending on who caught him.

Whatever. He didn't want to be friends with any of those morons who willingly signed up to the military. That just made him think of Passione and he repressed a shiver; he was _pretty_ sure of the Boss wanted him dead Narancia would've been killed at some point due to knowing Passione had an assassination squad. Then he thought maybe the Boss would make Bruno do it and his nails dug into the wooden tabletop. He wasn't too sure which death he'd prefer; being killed by an assassin or Bruno. At least Bruno would probably do it quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Swallowing a mouthful of stew Narancia looked around the mess hall at the wide assortment of people that made up the trainees, of all shapes, sizes and ages.

There were two other people at his table, a fairly angry looking redhead who was stabbing at the pieces of meat in the stew as if they personally affronted him while the other a small blonde girl with too-thin limbs and panicky blue eyes that were darting from point to point as if she expected to be attacked at a moments notice. Narancia stuffed the rest of his bread in his mouth as he went back to ignoring the room at large, nearly choking on the bread.

His first impression of the training grounds and the instructors had just been fairly boring. Narancia had been kinda hoping they would have a Titan tied up somewhere so they could look at it. He'd never seen one but heard all about them- not just the Armoured one but the 'usual' types. How they looked like giant humans but with distorted faces and body shapes. How some would be over fifteen metres tall and could easily swallow people whole while others chewed. There were all sorts of stories in Sina, with the vast majority being rumours and speculation. And it seemed even those who were there when Maria fell didn't know much about them or even describe them well. 

_Whatever, if I'm not killed by the Boss's orders then I guess I'll be able to see one when I'm a Scout. That shit can't be as hard as living in the Underground or being in Passione._ Narancia thought as he licked the bowl clean. 

One dinner was completed they were taken by one of the older military members, to be assigned to their new sleeping quarters for the next three years.

The sleeping cabins were large, two trainees assigned to each of the bunk beds filling the room and segregated by gender. The blankets were thick and plush, along with mattress so soft that Narancia wouldn't mind dying in. A small amount of lamps were affixed to the ceiling, bathing everything in an even light. They were assigned two to a bunk and told to figure out who got which one, though Narancia noticed the trainees which knew one another were assigned the same bunks or area. 

After a moment of dithering he clambered up onto the top bunk- he liked being able to keep an eye on everything and with the bunk resting against one of the walls it also meant he didn't have to worry about someone eyeballing him from every side. Narancia just kinda wished he was put in one of the corner beds but the softness of the bed really made up for his mood.

Since Narancia didn't know anyone he was paired with a random stranger, though it was the angry redhead he'd seen at dinner earlier who barely even gave Narancia a cursory glance.

"I'm staying in the top bunk," Narancia told him.

"I don't care," was the snapped response. _Wow okay then._

The redhead was short, even shorter than Narancia which in itself was a novelty. However he didn't even speak to Narancia after his initial comment, just sat down on the bottom bunk and proceeded to stare at nothing. Narancia thought about maybe starting something with him but there was a fairly twisted set to the redhead's lips that Narancia figured he'd be very chancy to cross and Narancia had thought he'd never meet someone with a glare nastier than Abbacchio but that guy proved him wrong. And that was without Narancia really being annoying.

Only a few minutes after they were assigned their bunks and settled in the same person who led them there told them bluntly they were going to be on military time from now on; which meant they would be up at dawn, so to get rested in preparation for the initial testing in the morning. Then the lights were turned off, plunging the room into darkness. Narancia had fairly good night vision, a byproduct of being born and raised largely in a giant underground cavern, so he just clambered underneath the covers and nuzzled happily into the plush pillow. He _really_ could deal with it if it meant he could keep such a nice bed. He actually expected them to be forced to sleep on the ground or on dirt or something.

Around him many recruits started having hushed conversations with each other, their voices sounding like low hisses in the dark. Narancia's bunkmate, who he didn't even know the name of, said nothing and was so silent Narancia wasn't even sure if he was actually still down there.

Still, Narancia slept with his knife in hand. Just in case.

* * *

"After morning breakfast you are to report to the training grounds to do a basic aptitude test!" Shadis shouted at the front of the mess hall to all the fairly dazed and sleepy recruits, "The potential for ones maneuver gear can be assessed in this! Those who are found wanting will be sent to the reclaimed lands!" His voice echoed around the room until it seemed like ten men were bellowing the same thing. One last fierce glare around the room and Shadis stormed from the room with the door smashing shut behind him with a thunderous _bang!_ that made several recruits jump.

Narancia yawned, really not liking this new alarm clock; which was mainly just an instructor bursting into their sleeping quarters and yelling and shouting until they got up. Narancia really loved sleep so being forced to wake up at the crack of dawn left him fairly cranky. The food distracted him somewhat, their breakfast being hot porridge, tea and a weird lumpy bread thing the cooking lady said was a 'scone'. It was edible in any case.

Sipping on his tea Narancia noted how a lot of his fellow recruits looked just as tired and cranky as he did, obviously not liking the early morning. He did spot the potato girl from earlier who looked fairly chipper despite the hour and guessed being from a hunting village she was probably used to getting up early. He didn't spot his cranky bunk bed buddy but Narancia didn't try too hard since he already didn't really like the guy. However he did spot Eren who was sitting to the table next to him, sitting between the blond boy Armin and a blank-faced girl who Narancia heard Armin call 'Mikasa' and he eyed her curiously; there was something weirdly dangerous about her that made Narancia's nerves tingle. It was kinda like the little nagging in his mind before he was about to get in a fight or something. Or like how he caught from Doppio, or when Abbacchio was in a truly foul mood. This nudge of danger despite the evidence to contrary.

Her dark hair was a short, cut just above her shoulders. However there was something about her that nagged at Narancia's brain, like a persistent mouse gnawing on a piece of bread. Not just the weird danger aspect but something about her face, at the shape of her dark eyes which seemed weirdly familiar to Narancia. He chewed on a particularly tough piece of his scone, idly staring at Mikasa and unaware his absentminded staring wasn't going unnoticed by her. Instead he was focused on trying to figure out _why_ she seemed...familiar, almost? Like he'd seen her somewhere or someone like her.

 _Someone similar..._ Narancia swallowed down mouthful of porridge as his eyes roved over Mikasa's face, following the slope of her nose and then up to her eyes again. His attention was then snagged by Armin leaning forward into Mikasa's space, his blond hair briefly obscuring her before he settled back in his chair. The flash of gold caused Narancia to twitch, connecting the dots as to why Mikasa was reminding him of something when the trio finished their meal and got up to head to the training grounds.

"Um, hey?" Narancia waved his hand at the girl as she walked past his table and Mikasa paused. Armin and Eren took a few steps forward before noticing their friend had stopped, expressions curious on Armin and annoyed on Eren's face as they turned around.

"Yes?" Mikasa said after a brief pause, stepping closing to him with her face still blank.

"Uh you wouldn't have any family in Sina or something, would you? Maybe some guy called Giorno?" Narancia asked.

Mikasa's expression tightened slightly, "No, I don't know anyone of that name. Why do you ask?"

"Oh. Um, well he kinda looks like you?" Narancia explained, scratching under his orange headband as he searched for the words, "Like just with his face, I mean really just with the shape of his eyes? I dunno, figured you guys might be related or some shit 'cause of it and I haven't seen anyone else with 'em before."

"...No. I don't have any other family than Eren," Mikasa said though she looked confused by his question.

"My bad then," Narancia said with a shrug, going back to his porridge without a second glance. Mikasa stared at him for a moment longer before she turned and left, followed by her friends out the door.

"It is not polite to comment on someones looks," a voice told him sternly and Narancia looked over at one of the other recruits sharing his table. The girl was tall and broad shouldered, with calloused hands and sharp features. Her bright magenta hair was cut sharp, hanging just above her shoulders and with a masculine face. Her eyes were cold as she watched him.

The nervous blonde girl from last night was at the table as well, sitting close to the pink haired girl and still looking flighty as her blue eyes darted between Narancia and the girl.

"I was just asking if she was related to someone," Narancia said, jabbing his spoon in her direction.

"It isn't polite."

"Oh stop sticking your nose into things that don't concern you," the last occupant of the table, a short blond guy, sneered at her.

"It is not difficult to use manners Diego," the girl told icily, her glare shifting to him.

"What use are manners these days?" Diego scoffed, "It's the _military_ , HP. You should lose the ridiculous rosy notions of such an organization caring about inane things."

"Then why even bother to join if you're so derisive of the idea?" her voice got even colder, to the point Narancia half expected her to get up and punch the blond, Diego, in the face, Considering how much larger and more muscular she was than him Narancia would bet on her.

"Easy, I shall join the Military Police and live in luxury for the rest of my days. What do I care for the rest of these brainless cattle."

"So that is your entire aspiration, to hide safely behind Sina." Her voice was scornful even if her face remained blank, even as the small blond girl next to her sank lower in her seat.

"What else is there, woman? You're a fool to believe otherwise."

"To be a Scout is to protect those who cannot do it themselves," HP said, lifting up her chin, "The Survey Corps has the emblem named the wings of freedom for a reason along with the King's support. He knows it is not a useless endeavor despite what many say."

"Oh yes I'm sure," Diego said sarcastically, "After all if you're devoured by a Titan I'm sure the King is going to come running down here as soon as he can to make sure these taxpayers of his are alright."

Narancia laughed at that, nearly inhaling a mouthful of porridge in the process. Diego's smirk widened at the noise before giving the pink haired girl a smug look while she glowered silently at him.

That proved to be the last drama for breakfast at least, with Diego finishing the last of his tea and sweeping out of the room as regally as any noble. The small blond girl didn't move from her seat before her much largely companion did, shadowing HP as she left the mess hall. Narancia had just scraped his porridge bowl clean when one of the military guards approached him, Narancia's hand twitching almost instinctively to his knife hidden in the back pocket of his uniform pants.

"You Narancia Ghirga? You've got a letter," the man said in a bored voice as he handed over a small envelope, "Read it quick and then head outside before Shadis comes looking." 

Confused he accepted it, turning it over to look at the red wax seal on it; the pattern was pressed into a flower and Narancia snorted. Giorno _really_ like flowers. He guessed they did smell kinda nice. Flipping out his pocket knife he quickly sliced open the envelope, pulling out the folded letter that smelled of rosehip. It took a bit for him to decipher the flowing script, which seemed way more curvy then really needed, but finally managed to read it.

Narancia,   
There has been no proclamation about your conscription from the Boss, therefore you are in no immediate danger. Regardless please remember discretion and to protect yourself. Buccellati is going to see you during the allotted monthly visit for kith and kin at the trainee grounds and he will elaborate the situation more to you. As is you are not currently at risk of being killed for the unfortunate circumstances you are in. Despite the lack of outward threat, training for the military branches is difficult and comes with its own perils different than that of the Underground so keep yourself vigilant and strong. The military is not a place to let your guard down as they are solely self serving and have no qualms about letting their soldiers die for their inane agendas. Please stay safe.  


~ Giogio 

Narancia reread the letter and then laughed. Giorno was _so_ weird.

* * *


	5. The first test

* * *

The military uniform was, at its core, fairly basic. White pants, white shirt, knee high leather boots. However encasing the wearer from the neck down where numerous straps entwining the legs of the user, designed to support the wearer in using the maneuver device when it was attached. The straps crossed across the pelvis and attached to dual straps wrapped around the upper thigh before continuing down to brace the knees, down the shins to end at the foot as a main support. There were a lot of diagrams showing how to properly secure the countless straps and warnings of the damage if it were done wrong. 

A secondary support was a large cross-shaped harness that would rest on the shoulder blades, with the straps securing it around the arms and across the users chest before attaching to the belt. Two more of the dull grey material were held tight against either side of the lower spine. Twin leather sashes were tied around the waist, stretching halfway down the outside of the thigh to prevent chafing of the connecting blade holsters.

Johnny found all the straps and supports a pain in the ass.

At least he wasn't the only one, as he heard other cadets getting chewed out by wandering instructors over incorrectly placed or secured straps. They were gathered outside in the burning sun, looking over the trainees using the maneuver gear. It was an initial test, as Shadis kept bellowing at them. To test their potential with the gear, as they would be suspended via the grappling wires attached to a mobile steel bracer held high between the large wooden supports. It was an act of balance, to keep themselves centred on both wires as the bracer above rocked back and forth with their movements. If they couldn't pass the first test they would be sent back to the reclaimed lands, for as Shadis pointed out those who couldn't even pass this basic standard of centering their balance then they would have no aptitude for maneuver gear at all.

The low hum of voices and bustling bodies made Johnny clench his teeth. He never really liked people, not as friends anyway, but after his accident he found himself greatly disliking crowds. He had to resist the urge to gouge an elbow in the ribs of a cadet who tottered too close to him or kick another in the shin. Instead he crossed his arms, leaning his weight on his right foot as he eyed the cadets currently trying to balance in the test, suspended a few feet off the ground and swaying. Some had more difficulties than others, with Shadis marching back and forth while shouting and giving extremely back handed advice. 

Johnny wished the man would just shut up; his sleep had been shallow and restless, leaving him more tired than when he went to bed. At least the military beds were comfortable, something he could grudgingly admit. Didn't stop his terrible sleep though.

With a grunt he arched his back, spine clicking in response before yawning. The weather was sunny and calm but Johnny knew when noon showed up the heat would be pretty horrid. At least the white shirts and trousers of the uniform were fairly breathable, even with all the annoying straps hugging it tight. He peered around the training grounds, squinting past the herds of cadets and the ones currently doing the balance test; at the back of the ground he could see another instructor walking by with an escort, his white hair and wrinkled face fond. Johnny was fairly sure he recognized the old man from the previous day, watching their 'greeting' by Shadis. There was also that rude blond doctor who accosted Johnny when he'd arrived but Johnny hadn't seen him since yesterday. A part of him was still pissed off over being scolded like a disobedient child as well.

Biting back the snarl of rage in his gut Johnny looked back to the trainees going through the aptitude test; Two cadets passed the test near instantly, a fairly blank faced girl with dark hair and a short blond guy who looked decidedly unimpressed with life. The two barely wobbled, suspended between two taunt wires a few feet from the ground to the point even Shadis had no criticisms to them beyond a warning to 'not get overconfident because that will get you killed' tirade as he strode by.

Other recruits didn't have that level of success, with a lot of flailing limbs and lurching bodies. One cadet with a gnarlish bright orange headband was cursing so colourfully he was getting a lot of shocked glances from people around him as he flailed about in the air. Johnny frowned, hugging himself as he eyed the trainees as he tried to figure out the best way to approach the test; for all he wanted to punch that doctor in the face he was fairly loathe to admit the man had a point. He didn't care, either way he was going to join the Survey Corps, but figuring out how to use the maneuver gear with the least amount of damage to himself was key. Of course, just hanging in place would be a lot different from flying about in the air but first he just needed to learn how to distribute his weight.

He'd learned fairly quickly any blows to his lower back usually meant his legs seizing or giving out completely. Sometimes he'd even lose feeling entirely, legs being essentially dead weight. The first time that happened he'd been terrified he'd accidentally paralyzed himself, only for the numbness to dissipate after nearly fifteen minutes. Even so he'd been extremely wary of every action that could cause further harm. It would be one of his biggest challenges, figuring out how to use the maneuver gear without causing his legs to seize and render him a sitting duck. 

Eyeing the current recruits on the equipment he mulled over his options for several minutes before coming to the annoying conclusion that it was something he'd need hands on experience with. He knew the hooks used to maneuver them were attached to either side of the hips so hopefully he'd be able to brace most of his weight on his pelvis and thighs compared with the small of his back. At least he'd have a week to sort it out, as those who were prefect from the start were passed but those who had issues would be granted advice and training in addition to their basics before a final test at the end of the week. If they failed to pass that one they would be sent to the reclaimed lands.

Mind made up he shoved his way to the front of the crowd, waiting for one of the recruits to finish her flailing attempts at balance. One of the aids gestured him forward and without argument he stepped forward, stopping below the steel bracer hanging several feet above him. One of the military aids carefully hooked the wires onto the sturdy latches at either side of his belt, tugging a few times to make sure it was secure, before going back to the winch. With a groan of metal the trainer rotated the winch and the wires pulled taunt then lifted him off the ground.

Also most immediately he felt his spine tense, a sharp uncomfortable _twang_ blooming in the small of his back. Ignoring it Johnny focused on trying to keep his body even, legs spread and toes even. His balance lurched and his torso dipped forward as the twang shifted in a dull throbbing. His focus narrowed, ignoring the other recruits watching or trying the same test. Even Shadis' shouting faded in a buzzing mess at the back of his thoughts as the pain surged through him.

If there was one thing Johnny was blessed with it was his immensely high pain tolerance. Ever since that incident two years ago he'd learned that screaming and thrashing just made everything worse and achieved nothing. The pulse in his back was nothing compared to what he'd gone through before. Even the seized muscles that woke him up occasionally in the middle of the night were worst than that pain. So he clenched his jaw against the pain, blue eyes narrowed while his fingers bent into claws.

Slowly he shifted his weight, moving it from the small of his back towards his hips as his body bowed in two slightly. His legs bent while his arms were hovering at his side, shoulders flexing as he tried to get his swaying under control and to shift the distribution of his weight. Johnny had always been short and deceptively slender but at the very least it meant he had less weight to worry about. By the time he'd managed to balance out, still intently focused, Shadis had come to a halt in front with cold assessing eyes.

In all, it nearly took him five minutes to stabilize himself.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to be more than just first rate Titan feed," Shadis barked at him when Johnny looked before his attention was drawn from a commotion further down the line.

It was one of the younger recruits- Eren, Johnny was fairly sure his name was -drawing all the snickering and mocking laughter from where he'd managed to hang upside down and squirming.

At least it got rid of Shadis' scrutiny who stormed off to the recruit while yelling. Johnny exhaled slowly, muscles burning and left leg twitching as the trainer lowered him down and unhooked him from the wires. He didn't care if he had to redo the test; he had at the least figured out how to support his weight even if his back would punish him later for it. Just figuring out where and how to support his weight was enough but he could figure out the rest with practice so he limped out of the way for the next recruit without complaint.

Arching his spine, Johnny rubbed the heels of his palms at the small of his back as the bones clicked satisfyingly before he felt eyes on him and titled his head to the side to find it was the military doctor, leaning against the railing of the nearby officer's cabin with a cup coffee and a judgemental expression.

Johnny glared at him; the doctor gave him an irritated look in return before one of the nearby soldiers started badgering the man for attention. Gyro turned away, hair honey gold in the clear sunlight from where it fell over his broad shoulders and back.

 _Asshole,_ Johnny thought.

* * *


	6. Titans

* * *

"Even the remnants of our historical literature offer no hints as to the origins of Titans, of where they came from, or why or how. We know next to nothing about them. What little we know about their bodies we learned about due to recent efforts of the Survey Corps and their reports taken through their monthly expeditions. The Titans show no signs of human-like intelligence and therefore there are no known successful attempts to communicate or reason with them. Their body structure is fundamentally different from that of all other known creatures. They have no sexual organs and thus the nature of their reproduction is unknown. Despite that most of them have a physique resembling human males. Their bodies exhibit extremely high temperature and to our confusion and dismay they express no interest in any creatures except humans. Even horses killed during Survey Corps excursions are simply collateral, not a target."

         Titans are seemingly driven solely by their desire to devour humans yet from the fact they survived in an environment devoid of humans for over a century we can safely assume they do not need to eat in order to live. Thus is it likely their purpose is not predation but rather annihilation. However main factor behind the race of human race being driven in such a corner faced with extinction is the Titans astounding ability to survive. Since long ago humanity has fought using the technology of cannons but such fire power could not stop the Titans. Even if a Titan's head is blown off, it will regenerate a new one within one to two minutes though individual differences in time do exist."

Murmuring rushed through the classroom like a wave, many of the students giving each other shocked or disbelieving looks at the instructor's information. Even Narancia frowned, trying to wrap his head around the fact a Titan could recover from being _beheaded._ People died pretty easily, Narancia knew, if you could figure out where to hit them. A knife in the eye, a bullet in the head, a push down some stairs. That'd put down anyone if you did it right. But a Titan could just deal with its head being blown right off without a care, could just grow it back after a minute.

That reminded him of when Giorno showed him a tiny brown lizard once, telling Narancia how that 'species' could grow back its tail while pointing at the lizard's little stump that was slowly regrowing. Though it would take weeks apparently, not minutes. He chewed on the end of his pencil, thinking about it. _Maybe Titans are kinda lizardly then. But ain't they warm? Fuck, I dunno._

"Instructor, are Titans invincible?" Someone called out at the back of the class, halfway out of his seat and waving a hand frantically.

The white haired man turned away in response to the question, picking up the stick of chalk and quickly drawing on the blackboard a simplistic figure of a person seen at the angle from the back, before he said, "No, they are not. There is only one way to defeat a Titan. Target them _here_ ," he then drew a circle on the nape of the neck while saying, "If significant damage is done to this location, the Titan will die without regenerating."

Leaving the blackboard he walked to the desk at the front of the class while gesturing to the maneuver gear lying on top, noticeably the dual drawn blades lying side by side, "To cut through their flesh we use blades such as these. If the attack reaches their weak point, the Titan won't have time to regenerate and will die." He tapped a finger on the length of the blade before turning back to the board and, within the circle, sketched in the shape of a wedge on the nape of the drawings neck, "In your training you will learn how deep to cut- if the blow is too shallow, the Titan will regenerate the flesh, just like any other part of it."

Narancia drew a crude figure being decapitated in his notebook, along with the words 'sweet spot' and an arrow pointing at the impact zone. He added some blood splatters as well, sticking out his tongue as he dragged the pencil back and forth in quick motions.

"However, nonfatal wounds can still slow down a Titan," The instructor was still taking, face stern as he looked over the class, "Taking out the eyes, the spinal cord, Achilles tendon. All are effective methods of distraction to allow you to do a killing strike."

That made sense. Narancia guessed that beside the 'hard to kill' and 'regenerate lethal injuries' Titans were really like humans in terms of weak spots. _Well, except for the fact they don't have dicks. Guess that's not a soft spot on them, ha!_ He started giggling to himself, not noticing the fairly hostile look from the cadet sitting next to him.

The instructor took in a deep breath before continuing with his lecture, "There are two types of Titans- normal and abnormal. Abnormals possess unusual intelligence or act in an erratic manner while normal Titans are slower and will attack the nearest possible human. This intelligence is extremely limited, however. Abnormals will typically ignore lone or isolated humans, instead targeting specific individuals and even ignoring humans closest to them. They are also noticeable for running, jumping and reacting far more quickly than the typical Titan so they require even more caution in fighting again them- even for seasoned fighters. This is why maintaining your maneuver gear must also become second nature to you. Faulty equipment can kill you just as easily as a Titan so you must be familiar with it, until it seems an extension of your own body."

There are four blades in each sheath, giving you a total of eight. They are created from ultra hard metal which is also flexible and lightweight. Repeated use will dull or break the blades, rendering them ineffective in killing a Titan. Because of this you must be aware of your blade sharpness even in heightened combat. The gas canisters are laid across the top of the blade holsters- there are two canisters which hold a limited amount of fuel. It is important to keep check of how much gas you have left; without it, you shall be nothing more than a sitting duck for any Titan which comes across you. The wires used to perform maneuvers also must be something you keep aware of in the battle field. Titans can and will grab the wires, making it extremely difficult to disengage as the wire is designed to be immensely durable and largely unbreakable. The two hooks can be fired with enough force to puncture Titan flesh, steel and concrete. You must also learn not to instinctively grab the wires in times of high stress as you risk stripping the skin or muscle from your hands or severing fingers."

Narancia tapped his pencil against his lip, trying to follow the instructor's words as the old man lifted up the various pieces of equipment and began to talk in depth about them. As far as Narancia was concerned, it boiled down to the fact they fought with blades and to pay close attention to their supplies. Sounded like pretty basic stuff in his mind but judging by the expressions on the other trainee's and the scribbling of countless pencils that clearly wasn't the case. Narancia huffed, resting his chin in his hand while drawing some more random crap in his notebook, just things like the swords and gas canisters. He knew how complicated maths stuff got and trying to balance all that while being attacked by Titans sounded like a giant pain in the ass as the instructor talked about degrees and angles of attack. 

Trying to shake off his wandering thoughts Narancia scribbled crude drawings of the maneuver gear; there was the small barrel shaped 'body' that housed the steel wires and was fixed to the lumbar area of their backs. There were two independent axles on either side. The operating device of the gear was responsible for the launcher for the hooks and also acted as the handles for the blades; as the instructor said there were three triggers for the handles, one to eject blades, one to fire hooks which also was used to release and rewind said hooks and another trigger for the gas. This was also followed by another lecture on learning to use all three switches and their function by heart, so they don't use the wrong one in combat and thus die.

Seemed every potential mistake resulted in horrible death. _Urgh._

Then there was the fan section that the gas canisters set on top of the blade boxes were wired to, the fan located by the gear body that was responsible for launching them airborne. The amount of gas used would change the speed of their movements. Narancia inwardly despaired as to how he'd remember all the complicated crap. He could barely remember to brush his teeth or hair half the time.

There were also two blade box which housed four blades each that attached to the sides of their thighs, followed by a boring talk of how to correctly check their blades and their sharpness before battle. Apparently using the blades too harshly would blunt them quicker and, of course, result in death.

Narancia didn't know which death he'd prefer more, crashing into a tree and being turned into bug splat or being bitten in half. At least those ones seemed rather quick compared to being swallowed and slowly dissolved in a giant's stomach. He'd probably knife himself if he found himself in that scenario, really.

They were then given a manual on proper maintenance for gear, along with the tutor explaining how at the end of the week for those passing the aptitude test would be given their own set of maneuver gear which they would be expected to maintain for their three years of training. _Until it feels like an extension of yourself,_ the teacher told them sternly, once again telling them how they'd die if they didn't maintain their gear.

Narancia double underlined the words 'Probably gonna die horribly' in his notebook, next to his fairly bad drawing of the fan section.

Once the tutor stopped ranting about the importance of equipment maintenance he shifted back to the topic of Titans which Narancia had to admit was fascinating. Titans were kind of an after thought in the Underground, being safe tucked behind Sina right in the heart of Mitras. Even the fall of Maria didn't shake that, considering the Underground was specifically designed to be safe against Titan invasion. He heard so many rumours about them, of how they looked, and the Armoured Titan exacerbated that with all the wild speculations about what they could really do and the innermost Wall didn't exactly have a lot of past Scouts in it. Narancia knew the current King used to be one but he wasn't really allowed to just wander in there. So after they were given their manuals- filled with so much jargon Narancia knew reading it was going to be a horrible experience -then the tutor handed out countless hand drawn pictures of Titans. As he explained members of the military with an artistic hand had contributed, specifically the research branch who were focused on experimenting on Titans and figuring out what made them tick so they had a good likeness to Titans they would potentially encounter in the field.

The sketches of the Titans were disturbing, Narancia eyeing the images on the sepia coloured paper uneasily. Narancia had been fairly used to the Underground where it wasn't uncommon to see people stricken with disease and illness. Some would even be missing limbs or heavily scared. Narancia could still remember when he had his eye infection, which swelled up half of his face while bloody fluid and pus oozed constantly from his eye socket and his eye had been so irritated the whites had been nearly crimson from all the veins flooding it.

The Titans though were eerily humanesque, just on a far larger scale. Some had faces just like a typical person but others had too large eyes, muzzle-like jaws or overly stretched features as if it were taffy. Others were lipless or had eyes on the sides of their heads or distorted jaws. Things that made them like walking caricatures, just a great deal more murderous. For bodies they seemed to all have the same peach coloured skin but for their limb portions it was like their faces- many had portions just like humans but others had squat bodies, monstrous long arms or splayed limbs.

Some would run on all fours like beasts, labeling them as Abnormals. Those ones, if anything, creeped Narancia out the most. Sometimes Narancia would get bored and scuttle up the stairs in their safe house on all fours, no matter how often Fugo yelled at him about it, but that was just for random fun. He was fairly sure if someone started sprinting after him on all fours in the Underground he'd lose it. And Titans could be up for fourteen metres tall, even if some were half that size so having something like that charging at him on all fours just seemed like something from a nightmare.

He drew some Titans in his notebook; he wasn't very artistic but at least Titans were ugly enough in real life it didn't seem to matter.

* * *

The first week of their training was coming to an end, the final day for their aptitude tests happening the following morning. Narancia knew Eren was the only one currently still failing in that regard; the others who failed had already left for the reclaimed lands. Eren stubbornly clung to the idea he could pass the final test even if he currently had a bandaged head from where he reportedly nearly smashed his skull open doing after hours training with Mikasa and Armin.

Some more recruits voluntarily left as well. Narancia didn't miss the fact it happened right after their lessons about the Titans.

Truthfully he felt nervous, knowing he was going into the Scouts if he lived through the training and would be stuck there for a minimum of five years if he survived so he would most certainly encounter Titans. However he shoved that away, reasoning he survived the Underground so he'd damn well be able to figure out how to fight giant man-eating monsters and be the best there was. That, or die and then he probably wouldn't care too much.

At least their physical training wasn't that intense yet; many were still going through the aptitude testing but just as a way to improve their already acceptable balance. Narancia had gotten hoisted in that thing a few more times and found it rather creepy just hanging there in the air but he found the prospect of flying about rather exciting. But besides that they were waking up at dawn to do an hour long class of stretches to work on their flexibly and balance with the rest of the drill being more equipment lessons or basic drills. According to Shadis they needed both to prosper in maneuver gear since there was a lot of complex maneuvers they would learn and they needed to train their muscles for it.

Still, Narancia felt like he was going to pull something with all the twisting the stretching. At least he wasn't the only one having problems, with a lot of cursing and strains happening with the other recruits when they were out in the field. At one point a girl managed to dislocate her knee and a long haired doctor rather unceremoniously marched over there and shoved it back into place while she shrieked and flailed.

Shadis then went into a thunderous rant about how they would need to learn how to muster through pain and to build up their tolerance. Narancia wandered if they were going to be shoved into a fighting pit or something at one point to test their resilience. They did have knife pits and the like in the Underground and Narancia figured the military was as brutal as that. He _was_ handy with a knife and always kept his close where ever he went.

They were consistently fed though, which was one positive. True, he still hadn't figured out if it was gruel or stew they kept on being served but it was always hot and filling with a small loaf of bread always going with it. They would usually have porridge in the morning and with lunch it would shift between roast vegetables and different types of soups. Apparently the military had very strict terms on how healthy soldiers need to keep themselves and that extended to making sure their soldiers were fed. It would explain why so many of the recruits had that telltale leanness to them, showing why they _really_ joined. Food was a good motivator.

Didn't mean that Narancia wasn't missing his friends though. He even missed Abbacchio and his bad temper and prickly attitude, which he really hadn't thought possible. Though Narancia probably would regret that when Abbacchio no doubt got his hands on him. Narancia had a feeling Abbacchio wouldn't be kind and gentle, so he was fairly grateful that the military had a rule that only one person was allowed to visit each month. Unless Bruno was pissed enough he would send Abbacchio in his stead.

That made him pause in the middle of his dinner, the mess hall busy with noise and motion all around him as Narancia lingered with his spoon sticking out of his mouth. He was pretty intent on keeping his 'lofty asskicker' status and having Abbacchio give him a hiding in front of everyone wouldn't really help cultivate that.

As it was Giorno's letter seemed to imply Bruno wasn't going to kill him, so that was pretty good. Narancia still felt nervous though, he never liked being scolded by Bruno and admitted he'd messed up pretty bad but how was he supposed to know that was the one damn house that was so important? 

He chewed on a tough chunk of meat, the gravy thick in his mouth. The mess hall was warm and cozy, and while they had lost quite a few recruits there were still enough the steady thrum of voices and conversation. Something he was dragged into when a girl settled down on the bench next to him, her long ponytail frazzled and a loaf of bread stuffed in her mouth while the bald boy Connie sat opposite her. It took a few seconds for him to place her face, recognizing her as the girl Shadis had a screaming fit at on their first day.

Narancia took a swig of his drink before asking her directly, "What's your name? I keep on calling you 'potato girl' in my head but I'm pretty sure that ain't right."

She tore off a chunk of bread, chewing nosily before saying, "My name's Sasha. Sasha Blouse. You're Narancia, right? The one from the Underground."

"Yup, that's me."

Sasha nodded before she darted a look around the room before inching closer to him on the bench. Narancia continued chewing his bread but also kept a loose grip on his bowl in case she tried to swipe some of his stew. Across from them Connie was trying and failing to appear disinterested in their conversation.

"You know, I heard Captain Levi came from the Underground..." Sasha said, "What's it actually like down there? I've heard some stories but..."

"I mean, it's pretty dark," Narancia said, "And fuck all sunlight and wind and stuff. Oh and the air is stale. Smells way better up here."

"I suppose that makes sense, it's like a giant cave? And does everyone have weapons on them and the like? I heard there's always fights just right in the open."

"I guess? You should always have a weapon on you, that's just common sense." Even now Narancia could feel the comforting weight of his pocket knife at his hip.

Sasha made an agreeing noise, "Whenever I left the farmstead I usually had a hunting knife on me, if not a bow. Never knew when wolves were around and they'd have a go at stragglers if they were hungry enough."

"Don't cha have guns in the country or sumthin'?"

"Well we do but ammo is hard to get out there. Bows are easy to make if you know how and arrows are even easier. My p- my father taught me," Sasha corrected herself, a slight flush settling on her face.

"So did you get into fights down there?" Connie asked, "I heard Jean saying you were probably part of a gang or something, the Underground is basically the whole black market base for Mitras from what he was saying."

Narancia was _fairly_ sure Jean was the guy Shadis headbutted in their first day which meant he was a wimp so he scoffed, "What would he know? I mean like yeah, I got into fights and everythin' but that was just kinda what happened down there. Gotta protect yourself."

"Did you see lots of bad guys?" Sasha asked, chewing on her bread, "I mean like, everyone goes on how the Underground is basically the criminal...um, underground of Sina. Most of Walls, really."

Technically Narancia was one of the 'bad guys' but that was only according to those stupid noble snobs but he guessed Sasha was asking about those who actually held a reputation in the Underground. Licking gravy from his fingers Narancia mentally ran through the list of 'stay away' people Bruno and rumours had informed him about in the Underground, counting them off as he said slowly, "Well there's the Boss who's in charge of Passione which basically runs the place, and all those assassins he controls and his weirdo second in command, there's Kenny the Ripper, Cioccolata and his human pet..."

Connie paused, his spoon halfway to his mouth as he echoed, "'Human pet'?...Um just what...what does that even mean?"

Narancia was confused, "I mean he's got a human pet? Ya know, how people have pet dogs and cats and stuff? But that Cioccolata guy has a pet human. Called Secco or sumthin'? He's a complete nutter like Cioccolata. Even the Boss don't like dealin' with 'em apparently."

Sasha looked deeply disturbed, quickly covering it by stuffing the rest of her bread in her mouth while Connie was squinting at Narancia, as if suspicious he was pulling his leg. Narancia didn't get why because 'human pet' seemed to be pretty simple to understand. Admittedly he'd never seen Cioccolata or Secco but he'd heard enough about them he never really wanted to. Same for Kenny the Ripper, but at least that guy just seemed to enjoy killing Military Police. Then there was the Boss but no one ever met him so he kinda didn't count.

"Uh, but you're part of that right? Or did you leave to join the military?" Connie asked, after a fairly awkward silence.

"Nah, I got conscripted. I don't even wanna be here."

"How'd that happen?"

The rest of the dinner was Narancia talking to Sasha and Connie, as they finished off their supper. Oddly enough he found himself liking them, as they weren't snobby or overly a pain in the ass. Sasha seemed a lot more intrigued about the Underground and the conversation shifted back there, letting Narancia learn a bit more about the so-called 'Humanity's Strongest', Captain Levi of the Survey Corps who originated from the Underground. Though out of the three Narancia had the most colourful past, as Sasha came from a small hunting village and Connie from a farming community. Their pasts were fairly boring besides the couple of times Sasha recalled being chased by a pack of wolves and once fleeing up a tree to escape a hungry bear. Narancia shared his experiences with getting into alleyway knife fights and the occasional bar brawls he'd start with Mista. Connie just rather awkwardly mentioned the time a cow broke down a fence and he had to help round them up.

Before they really realized it, Shadis was looming over their table and telling them in a creepily quiet voice it was lights out and they needed to go to their sleeping quarters. Narancia hadn't even noticed everyone else had left the mess hall with the lights dim and air thick until Shadis was hissing it at them.

As it was, all three of them didn't need to be told twice.

* * *


	7. I know first aid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🎄 Merry Christmas 🎄

* * *

"Usually we'd have specialized courses for those who wish to be field medics. In the Military Police this isn't really a 'thing' because for some reason they think being behind Sina and being in the top ten means they'll never be injured but with Garrison and the Survey Corps, we aren't so stupid. In the second year of your training here, you can chose to specialize as a field medic which used to be the only courses but after the fall of Maria the commander felt that doing such a thing meant the lack of general medical knowledge in the Corps potentially contributed to the high level of injuries and deaths. Which I agree with. Of course, Titans are the lead cause but I've seen people die from sepsis before from minor wounds or survive encounters with Titan's only to die from subpar field care. So here we are."

Gyro Zeppeli looked much the same as when Johnny first met him; all blond hair, bronzed skin and gaudy green lipstick which matched his eyes as he stood at the front of the classroom. The pink teddy bear was sitting on the desk at the front, still wearing its little Survey Corps uniform. Johnny wondered how long the weird man had kept the bear for. Maybe it was a gift from a wife or lover? Or his mother? 

"As the longest living medical personnel on the Survey Corps, it's fallen to me to tell you the basics," Gyro continued, inspecting his nails which were a matching green to his painted lips, "Of course sometimes I won't be here due to being on an expedition so someone else will fill in- or if I die they'll cover the course entirely. Whatever."

"How long have you been the longest living medic?" Someone asked near the back.

"Two years." There was a fairly pronounced silence after that, to which Gyro added, "If you haven't noticed, the Scouting Corps has a fairly high death rate. Survive a few years and you're a veteran. That'll be why you lot, who don't die from training, will most likely join the Garrison. Those who join the Scouting Corps...Well, you already know the general survival rate. But hey beats hiding behind a Wall waiting to die, right?"

Johnny couldn't deduce if the man was being an ass or trying to make a joke, but as it was there was a fairly still silence drifting across the room. It was nearing the end of the first month and most of their training exercises were focused on balance and flexibility or running laps with numerous classroom lessons about the history of Paradis, proper use of the maneuver gear, and the more speculations on Titans in between. That last one just seemed to be a theory class, since so little was actually known about them. Despite the more 'gentle' nature of their initial training nearly a fourth of the fresh recruits had already dropped out. Johnny hated it just because his useless, stupid body hated it. Still, he wasn't about to run off home. He'd either make the Survey Corps or die. There would be no compromise from himself on that part.

Most of the current lesson- which Johnny knew would be around two hours long before they left for their afternoon run -dissolved into a very general and basic explanation of the human body, of the muscles and bones and organs, of their names and general function.

Johnny would've been insulted at the overly slow and simplistic way Gyro was talking to the class if he didn't know barely half of them were literature or little more than farmers. Oddly enough the farmers seemed to know more practical than the recruits from more civilized parts of the Walls, until he understood that due to their isolated farms most would have to have passing knowledge of medicine, even if it was just how to bind sprained limbs or stitching cuts.

Truthfully Johnny himself didn't really know much beyond the basics. He knew how to care for _himself_ but his own issues were ones that would flare up randomly and leave just as quickly. He never really had to learn how to stitch wounds or pop dislocated limbs back in place. Though those classes were bound to be interesting. He drew a rough diagram of a femur in his notebook, pencil scratching on the page before he resumed glaring at the pink teddy bear on the table. Knowing that Zeppeli was a weirdo he'd probably named it. _Maybe it belonged to a dead sister? A keepsake?_

"Theory doesn't really leave an impression," Gyro said, throwing a stick of chalk at the blackboard where he'd finished scrawling a list of bone breaks, "And half of you aren't even paying attention. I really should leave Keith in here to glare the lot of you in submission."

Gryo huffed before straightening back up and clapping his hands together.

"Alright, since demonstrations seem to work better with recruits...Reiner, Lucy, get up here." He suddenly snapped his fingers, pointing at the raise he was standing on. There was a brief silence before he said, voice hard and cold, " _Now._ "

With the scrape of chairs the two hurried to the front of the class, looking fairly nervous to be under everyone's scrutiny. Both were blue eyed blondes of the same age but that was where the similarities ended; Reiner was already as tall as most adults with heavy musculature while Lucy was skinny with small limbs showing a childhood of bare meals and hard farming. The size difference between the two was nearly comical, even if Johnny found it hard to believe that Reiner was only fourteen. _Bullshit._

"So let's do a little role play, hm?" Gyro put his hands on his hips from where he was standing to the side, "And see how well your answers balance out. In this scenario you're outside the Wall, doing whatever. You just finished killing a Titan but unfortunately Lucy got knocked out. Lucy, just lie on the ground. Play dead for a bit."

She obediently settled down, lying on her back with her hands folded across her stomach.

"This is just basic really. Aftermath, since I can't exactly hack off a few of her fingers and order you to deal with it. Commander said that would be 'too extreme' so we're starting off slow."

Reiner nodded, watching Gyro intently while Lucy remained lying on the ground between them. Johnny really had to wonder if Gyro was just being annoying or if he actually had originally intended to cut off fingers. He wondered if medical scalpels would be sharp enough to do it cleanly. Some would probably do so easily enough- he knew what Eren boy praising the military fanatically enough he'd probably let Gyro do a vivisection on him if needed; an attitude that just go worse when he passed that first assessment on the maneuver gear balance. Military dogs were tiring.

Gyro kept talking, the odd lilting accent in his voice sharpening his disinterested words, "She's unconscious. There is no open wounds or breaks or head trauma. She just bashed her head on a nearby tree and is knocked out. This is during an expedition obviously, so there is only a grassy plain, you and Lucy. No other Scouts to be seen. What do you do?"

It was fairly abrupt, him demanding recruits to know what to do when he'd mainly been talking about bones and muscles not even a minute ago. Then again Gyro could be testing the recruits common sense, Johnny was unsure. Gyro was annoying hard for him to read, even now with him standing a few feet back from Lucy and Reiner, weight resting on one leg and absentmindedly checking his nails again.

Reiner hesitated, hands raising in an awkward gesture as he dithered before he said, "I...I check, for any potential dangers."

"Such as?"

"Um. Titans, most obvious," Reiner fumbled over his words and Johnny was abruptly reminded he was barely a teen, "Also environmental- if she fell on some rocks or her swords. I also check her gear for um. In case any of it is interfering with her breathing."

"As you lot have already been informed, the blade casings, gas canisters and fan are all connected to a breakable clasp," Gyro added, "So if you do fall or something else idiotic the clasp will break so you don't further injure yourself on obstructive gear. But anyway, checked Lucy and she isn't being suffocated by her gear. Continue."

"I...Check her neck, to see if its broken."

"It's not."

"So then I put her up on my horse-"

"Horse dead," Gyro said casually from where he was now sitting on his desk.

"I pick her up," Reiner said, even though it sounded more like a question.

Gyro just looked at him before gesturing to where Lucy was still lying on the ground, staring up at the ceiling with her dull blue eyes. She did look fairly dead, in Johnny's opinion. Then Reiner bent down and effortlessly lifted Lucy up, making her squawk with surprise.

"Unconscious people don't yell or flail," Gyro snapped and Lucy froze before quickly going to imitating a dead person. 

Reiner easily supported her weight, holding her bridal style with her skinny legs dangling over one arm and head resting in the crook of the other. Even as dead weight Reiner had no visible effort in supporting Lucy.

"It is also possible to drop your blade cases," Gyro said, pushing himself away from the desk, "If you are all clear and need to move an injured ally somewhere safe quickly. They are an added weight and maneuverability issue so dropping them lightens your load- of course that would also disengage the gas canisters so the gas in the fan mechanism would be the only you have left unless you have the presence of mind to put the gas canisters in the holster where the blade cases would originally go. Of course every good plan goes to smash as soon as its enacted. Titans are good with ruining them, especially if they're Abnormals."

Johnny propped his chin on one hand, tapping his pencil rhythmically against his notepad. He was very curious about Titans, after all. He'd never seen one and the drawings they'd been shown weren't adequate. But he hadn't missed that one of the main things Gyro seemed to be trying to explain was cooperation, to look out for fellow members. After all many maneuvers were performed with fellow Scouts and being beyond the Walls demanded a high level of trust and reliability. The Survey Corps in particular were known to be severely loyal and tight knit.

"Fine. Now swap places. Lucy, move Reiner." Gyro ordered.

The change proved a far bigger challenge; Lucy, being so small with thin arms gnawed by hunger, was completely unable to lift Reiner who was easily twice her size and weight. She attempted, grabbing onto his wrist and trying to drag him across the ground with her face flushed with effort but only moved him a few feet before falling over. Gyro scolded Reiner for subtly trying to help her. Lucy then switched to trying to shove him, crouching down and pushing with limited effect, at one point falling over Reiner in her efforts. By the end she was breathing heavily with her face red yet still trying to haul the much larger boy until Gyro rolled his eyes, clapping his hands together sharply.

"So we've established you can't move him," Gyro said to her, "What do you do instead? Sit around and wait to die?"

It seemed far more of a rhetorical question, with a fairly awkward silence following it. Lucy stood up, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and looking perilously close to tears; either through frustration or anger, Johnny really didn't know but Gyro shooed her off before she could say anything. He then poked Reiner with his foot and sent him back to his desk as well.

Johnny wasn't sure if that was the purpose of the exercise, to show a potential recruit that they will be in scenarios where they'd either be forced to abandon teammates or die uselessly. He had thought since the medic was part of the Survey Corps he would've been more prone to the glue-thick loyalty but if he was the longest lived medic then Gyro most like had witnessed many pointless deaths over grievously injured teammates or even corpses.

Maybe Johnny was lucky with that, considering he was hardly what one would call sentimental.

"I guess if you're in the top ten you can just join the Military Police and everything is a lot calmer in Sina, isn't it? It'll take another Wall before that one's breached which could be another century." Gyro said, going back to leaning against his desk, "The majority of the top ten do. I mean, what else is there? Running beyond the Walls and being eaten? I bet many of you saw enough of that fleeing from Maria. Either way, it's time for that afternoon run with Keith and he does dislike waiting. Next time you're here we'll start discussion amputation and binding. Very useful for the military where getting a let or arm bitten off is common. That is if you're unlucky enough to live."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gyro isn't exactly 'teacher' material. It's one of the funniest parts of SBR tbh
> 
> But for real, we're only given very little glimpses into the three year training for the military, they must've had _some_ medical courses and the like considering how high the fatality and injury rate is. Idk even if they don't i'm putting it in here


End file.
